About Melaku

Melaku’s music is both classic and modern, pulling from the timeless sounds of the past and updating them with modern pop sensibilities. His music has been positively reviewed by BuzzMusic LA, Tattoo Magazine, The Indie Source, AnR Factory, With Guitars Magazine , The Big Takeover, and Consequence of Sound.

A singer, songwriter, and producer, Melaku records his music at his hometown recording studio and releases it on his independent record label, Angellion Records. Melaku was born to an Ethiopian father, and a Jewish mother in Santa Cruz, California. He began playing guitar and singing at 5, picked up drums at 10, began recording songs at 13, and soon after, started working with and recording various local rock bands and rap groups.

In college at Columbia University, Melaku began writing Pop songs which landed him a management deal that lead to him working with producers for artists like Ke$ha, Flo Rida, B.o.B, Jacob Lattimore, and Collie Buddz, and labels like Universal Motown, Atlantic Records, Tulsa Records, Easy Star Records, and G Note. In this role, Melaku discovered many of the secrets of songwriting, and this sparked a desire to bring what he was learning into his own musical style.

In childhood, Melaku had been primarily exposed to classic pop music from the 60s and 70s. In first grade, he was on stage singing Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Good," and his love for the sounds of that early guitar-based music stayed with him throughout his life. Primacy of the guitar can be found on all of his current records, a nod to the greats that came before, and an act of defiance against the erasure of that instrument in the current Pop landscape.

The impact of Melaku’s songs go far beyond the sonic, because of his commitment to creating music with a message. On his personal hero’s journey, the encounter with dizzying highs, tragic lows, and intense revelations expanded his perspective on life and transformed him spiritually. His music is imbued with the lessons learned, and the visions seen.

Melaku released his sophomore album "Dream World" on Dec. 12, 2019. The album pulls from inspirations from the AM Gold era, and merges that sound with modern Indie Pop. The album, inspired by the ending of a relationship, is a meditation on the breakthroughs that can come through break-ups.